Flex sockets: Craftsman = Gearwrench

[atlm]

A recent struggle with a universal adapter flopping with the weight of a socket sent me into a journey of flex/swivel socket research and purchases. My 2 most cost effective options were Gearwrench, on sale at Advance Auto, and Craftsman, almost free with points, so I bought both to compare, planning to keep the better of the two.

What I found was that they're physically identical, in size, chrome finish and color, weight, pins, joint stiffness, everything. The only difference is the "Gearwrench" and "Craftsman" names stamped into them, and the broaching around the outside of the larger Craftsman metrics.

The first picture is a top view, with the Craftsmans in the back row, and Gearwrenches in the front. The other pictures are all side-by-side comparisons of same size sockets.

 

[atlm]

Piece count is also the same, 10 metric and 7 standard. Separate sets for Gearwrench, including socket rails. Together as one 17 piece set from Craftsman, with no rails. The previous sale at AAP priced the Gearwrench sets at about 1/2 of the best Craftsman sale prices, but they're almost the same at the moment without that sale.

COO is Taiwan for the Gearwrench sets, so that must be the same for the Craftsmans (COO was not listed anywhere on the Cmans).

Hopefully this is helpful for anyone interested in purchasing 3/8" drive flex sockets.

 

[Finky198]

Its been that way for years. same product diff branding... made by Apex if Im not mistaken...

 

[unslow1]

Try to find a difference in their ratcheting wrenches. Just like everybody else they rebrand.

 

[Bighead38]

I don’t know how people use those knuckle busters.

 

[Finky198]

I ditched my CM swivel socket for the snap on's not to long ago... what a difference as well...

 

[Andres26tnt]

I don’t know how people use those knuckle busters.

they are useful, sometimes a swivel and socket combination is to long.

 

[Wamsutta]

How far can they lean over without binding? That's what you look for in a flex socket. I can think of one brand that can lean over to almost a full 90 without binding.

 

[OHMS LAW]

Matco Adv impact 1/4 universal sockets are damn good. Aren’t those also rebranded?

 

[dwasifar]

...I bought both to compare, planning to keep the better of the two.

What I found was that they're physically identical...

So which did you keep?

 

[OHMS LAW]

Under further investigation Matco ADV is either gear wrench or sunex.

 

[atlm]

So which did you keep?

After seeing the crazy prices the Craftsman sets were selling for on eBay, I sold the Craftsman set on eBay and kept the Gearwrench.

 

[atlm]

For phase 2 of this journey, I bought 1/4" drive sets from Astro Pneumatic, Gearwrench (NAPA branded), and Craftsman.

 

[Al Borland]

How far can they lean over without binding? That's what you look for in a flex socket. I can think of one brand that can lean over to almost a full 90 without binding.

Harbor Freight???

 

[atlm]

Part 2, 1/4" drive flex sockets.


As expected, the Craftsman and Gearwrench sockets are identical in the 1/4" drive sizes, also. Here are a couple of pictures. The Gearwrench sockets here are NAPA branded.

 

[atlm]

Astro Pneumatic vs. Craftsman/Gearwrench

While the Astro Pneumatic 1/4" flex sockets are very, very close to the Gearwrench/Craftsman (besides the pins vs. screws, of course), their dimensions are a tiny bit different - only noticeable with a side by side comparison. Functionally, they work the same as the Gearwrench/Craftsman sockets.

 

[atlm]

So for 1/4" drive, it's pins vs. screws, with:

• no complaints in user reviews about either shearing off

• a few complaints about both sometimes coming out (probably with impact use)

• Astro fixing theirs with Loctite

• Astro being priced lower

You can guess which sets I kept and which I sold.

 

[WWheeler]

This shouldn't come as a surprise, at least to anyone who has been active on this forum, seeing as GearWrench's parent company, Apex, is also the manufacturer of Craftsman, sockets, ratchets, and wrenches, and has been since they were Danaher.

Lots of China-made Craftsman branded tools are identical to their China-made Gearwrench counterparts other than the brand name on them. A few that come to mind besides these swivel sockets are ratcheting wrenches, flare nut wrenches, and their slide hammer/puller. Their regular sockets share some similarities but are not identical, though.

 

[jgromada]

I find all this a bit humorous as it seems there are a lot of people here on GJ who are always hating on Craftsman while Gearwrench is the darling of low cost sockets and ratchets and seems to get a bunch of recommendations. We've been duped!

 

[Astro_Pneumatic_Tools]

So for 1/4" drive, it's pins vs. screws, with:

• no complaints in user reviews about either shearing off

• a few complaints about both sometimes coming out (probably with impact use)

• Astro fixing theirs with Loctite

• Astro being priced lower

You can guess which sets I kept and which I sold.

 

[amason3]

I find all this a bit humorous as it seems there are a lot of people here on GJ who are always hating on Craftsman while Gearwrench is the darling of low cost sockets and ratchets and seems to get a bunch of recommendations. We've been duped!

Gearwrench made a name for itself when it was made in Taiwan, prior to Craftsman going to China. More recently gearwrench went to china. As far as I know, the ratchets (120xp's) still seem to be holding up well even though they are now made in china. I have no clue as to the gearwrench sockets now made in china, but I can attest to the craftsman sockets made in china (3/8 and 1/4 drive at least) being **** and easily broken.

Taiwan developed skilled workers and attained and developed quality materials over the past decades. Gearwrench's success led to other well made cost effective tool companies like VIM, Sunex, Tekton, etc.. The Taiwan made gearwrench tools are the ones people place above the craftsman, it's really no different than people ranking snap-on above blue-point or williams. Actually, gearwrench was to Matco what bluepoint is to snap-on before Apex bought out Danaher. The 84 tooth ratchets (made in Taiwan) can be switched out with Matco (USA made) internals from the 60-88 tooth ratchets from the same time period and vice-versa (as well as the Armstrong Maxx ratchets 992 and 994 series). These facts also led to craftsman being ripped on compared to gearwrench because craftsman still used the same knuckle busting 36 tooth design ratchet it had used for 50 years when gearwrench came out. It is Apex who took craftsman to china and has now done the same with gearwrench.

China now has to go through what Taiwan did and make an equivalent product to what the US (and now Taiwan) makes, at a lesser price, to better their name in the industry. Until that is the norm with China, we'll continue to point out how they ****.

 

[atlm]

For clarity (repeating post 2), all of the flex sockets in this thread's comparisons are made in Taiwan, including the Astros.

 

[vhol5]

How far can they lean over without binding? That's what you look for in a flex socket. I can think of one brand that can lean over to almost a full 90 without binding.

So what brand is that?

 

[Finky198]

Snap on

 

[kelpaso1]

Just wrap an O-Ring around the flex joint. Stops them from flopping around.

 

[sberry]

I only use them on occasion and dont care what brand they are. I need one when I need it. Neither one is a deal breaker and works for me.

 

[WWheeler]

For clarity (repeating post 2), all of the flex sockets in this thread's comparisons are made in Taiwan, including the Astros.

I was pretty sure my Craftsman 17pc flex socket set bought in 2016 said 'Made in China', but I've long since lost the box they came in.

I didn't see manufacturer-date code in any of your Craftsman pics. I believe you said you sold it already. Do you have any other saved pics of them or recall what they were?

The manufacturer-date code on mine is L-AE on some and L-AF on others, so the date is 2015 (AE) and 2016 (AF), as 2001 is AA, 2002 is AB, and so on. I and others in the 'Craftsman Hand Tool Manufacturers & Date Ranges' thread had been under the impression 'L' (and 'S' and 'Z') were different manufacturing plant codes in China, but not so sure about that 'L' now.

Regardless both Craftsman and GearWrench are Apex. Most all of both Craftsman and GearWrench that was made in Taiwan are now made in China, notwithstanding Taiwan actually is China, but I digress.

 

[Yarpo]

Regardless both Craftsman and GearWrench are Apex. Most all of both Craftsman and GearWrench that was made in Taiwan are now made in China, notwithstanding Taiwan actually is China, but I digress.

You're the only person who's showed me a pic of some GW sockets/ratchets made in China, and I'm pretty sure it was an older set, long before this perpetual changing from Taiwan to China supposidly happened. As in, it may have just been a cheaper kit that was made in China from the get go. I'm still buying GW tools left and right and keep getting Taiwan made stuff. Do I doubt they are making things in China? No, I have their Chinese full polished wrenches. That said for the life of me I cannot get them to give me Chinese made sockets/ratchets yet. I think I buy a GW tool probably once a week, or whenever somthing is on sale. Not pictured is a 84T flex head, made in Taiwan.

[/IMG]

Bonus semi deeps that came in with my PS4 order from Amazon last wednesday. Also made in Taiwan but no COO picture cause I didn't think I'd enter this debate again

 

[Daddy B]

Just wrap an O-Ring around the flex joint. Stops them from flopping around.

Never knew this trick. This is why I love this site!

 

[atlm]

I didn't see manufacturer-date code in any of your Craftsman pics. I believe you said you sold it already. Do you have any other saved pics of them or recall what they were?

I'm seeing L-AH in pictures of the Craftsman sockets. Using the date decoder you listed, they were made this year (2018).

For Gearwrench, the 3/8" drive set in the comparison is older stock, the sets that came in cardboard boxes. The NAPA branded 1/4" drive Gearwrench set is also older.

So, the older Gearwrench sockets being identical to the new Craftsmans seems to indicate no change in manufacturing for the past few years for flex sockets.

 

[WWheeler]

You're the only person who's showed me a pic of some GW sockets/ratchets made in China, and I'm pretty sure it was an older set, long before this perpetual changing from Taiwan to China supposidly happened. As in, it may have just been a cheaper kit that was made in China from the get go. I'm still buying GW tools left and right and keep getting Taiwan made stuff. Do I doubt they are making things in China? No, I have their Chinese full polished wrenches. That said for the life of me I cannot get them to give me Chinese made sockets/ratchets yet. I think I buy a GW tool probably once a week, or whenever somthing is on sale. Not pictured is a 84T flex head, made in Taiwan. [...]

Wish I'd saved or taken photos of more of the packages, as GW doesn't have COO marks on their tools, but here's another for you (bought this set a little more than a year ago)...

 

[Yarpo]

Wish I'd saved or taken photos of more of the packages, as GW doesn't have COO marks on their tools, but here's another for you (bought this set a little more than a year ago)...

I dont doubt they're making tools in China, I do doubt for now the majority of their tools are made in China as I see this claimed EVERYWHERE without proof.. I've yet to receive an 84T ratchet, or a regular socket set that was made in China.